Kangaroos

[ribbert]

Yeah no doubt about it, Dawn, dusk & night, (particularly in outback areas) is a higher risk. That`s why we invented pubs - for touring motorcycles.
I should point out that particular photo is set up. Kangaroos are herbivorous and don`t graze on bitumen roads, let alone all in a row like that. Most roads are fenced to protect Grazier properties which also protects against Roos near roads. You get a Roo warning road sign in unfenced risky areas. I once met a touring French family that had been outback for two weeks and were still looking forward to seeing our famous kangaroo for the first time. - they hadn`t even seen one in a paddock anywhere!
Interestingly it`s very rare to hit a roo on a bike. The only mate i know that hit one has actually had it happen three different times, including two different occasions in a group of bikes. (again he was the only one that got one and was middle of the stretched group). He tells me they tend to duck when they realise you`re there and they are running, so ya never hit them high. He managed to stay upright on all three occasions. He still tours a lot but found the cure to his Roo problem 3 years ago. - He sold his BMW!

......Sound definateley is a factor, which is why Police vehicles in the notorious "Hay Plains" use "Roo Shoos" (a wind driven whistle of a particular pitch) following extensive tests. - but suggest the type of oil you use would be less controversial as oil doesn`t get clogged with insects.

The bona fides of the photo aside, although I did think that one of the few places you find grass sometimes is the edge of the bitumen where the rainwater runs off the road, kangaroos are a common sight and a real risk down here. You don't even need to go far. Even in suburbia, they get into partially built houses on the outer fringes then can't get out and destroy plasterboard walls, fixtures, break windows and sometimes fatally cut themselves jumping through windows. I have seen houses splatted in blood from one end to the other.
I often see them in places and at times of the day that you would never consider likely. At 130k's I recently had one cross my path no more than 3 or 4 metres in front of me, I didn't even get to the brake and he was gone again, 3.00 in the afternoon in fenced cropping country and he was a big bastard. Unlike many other wildlife hazards they are fast, you do not see them coming.
I have in the last year stopped twice to remove koala bears from the road. A motorcyclist wearing full gear is perfectly dressed for this task, they don't like being picked up. They not only don't scare with the approaching vehicle, but will wait for you to park and walk up to them. They are much bigger and heavier than most people think.
A couple of weeks back the police were chasing a roo around Melbourne airport. You see dead ones on major highways only a few K's from the city limits and even residential outer suburbs have warning signs.
I take them seriously and we do have the odd bike/roo fatality down here.
Below is a photo I took at this years MotoGP


This is INSIDE the track a couple of minutes before the Moto2 race.



Kangaroos can not be relied on to be cute and cuddly.

[movenon]

Is it true that koala bears can fall out of tree's and attack you .. Up in Alaska moose are kinda cute until one kicks the shit out of you. When I was in OZ and NZ many years ago I have to admit that I didn't see any Roo's... Of course at the time a little alcohol was involved. In Brisbane I was feeling no pain late one night, lost, stumbling around and I heard music from somewhere so I stumbled my way to the music and up a number of flights of stairs and walked in, they gave a quizzical look and when they found out the I was just another drunk American they invited me in for the evening... To this day I can't tell you what the event was, who was, or where it was. But I had a good time and am thank full for the hospitality. I hope that who ever they are, that life has been good for them.
Nice to see it sunny somewhere.... Freezing rain here on top of the snow....
George

[tmkaos]

When I was in OZ and NZ many years ago I have to admit that I didn't see any Roo's... Of course at the time a little alcohol was involved.

I'd be bloody surprised if you had seen any in NZ.. No matter how much booze was involved!

[fj11.5]

We have a few roos down here ( TASMANIA ) , but mostly wallabies , the smaller version of a kangaroo , no koalas , but lots of devils, yes , tasmanian devils , just like the cartoon, although very rarely do the spin , and they are also black and white, and have about 500 pounds of jaw pressure at least , cute but deadly,

[ribbert]

When I was in OZ and NZ many years ago I have to admit that I didn't see any Roo's... Of course at the time a little alcohol was involved.

I'd be bloody surprised if you had seen any in NZ.. No matter how much booze was involved!

I believe the kangaroo population in NZ. is about the same as the snakes.

[fj11.5]

Don't mind sending nz some tiger snakes, that should start them off, could use them for possum control 

[FJSpringy]

Is it true that koala bears can fall out of tree's and attack you ..  
George

its the drop bears you have to worry about, you should always take a semi nekid blond Scandinavian female backpacker with you as bait and a bottle of bundy rum to sterilise the wounds from the inside out

[ribbert]

Is it true that koala bears can fall out of tree's and attack you .. Up in Alaska moose are kinda cute until one kicks the shit out of you. George

Koalas sleep most of the time in trees, I guess if one fell of his branch and landed on you it could sort of be called an attack.

Kangaroos sound a lot like moose. They have enormous strength in their tales and legs and fight like this:


Then rip you open with this:


Of course the dirty fighters will just give you a double kick in the nuts:


A typical victorian roo:


A typical Queensland roo:

[racerman_27410]

Looks like that victorian roo has been hittng the roids!



KOokaloo!

[dogtired]

Is it true that koala bears can fall out of tree's and attack you

Careful of the Drop Bears George.
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Comments/18460/dropbear1.jpg
Nasty buggers.

[mr blackstock]

I live and work in Melbourne's west, everyday riding into the countryside for work and I see dozens most mornings.  The most dangerous aspect of Kangaroos I have found is when you are riding along and you see one in a field next to the road and think to yourself "that was close!" without realising the kangaroo's mate is coming across the road too.

You see a kangaroo? quickly look for his mate in the other direction.  A freind of mine also uses the same road, he hit a kangaroo in his modern car, wrote his car off, caved in bonnet, caved windscreen and roof, the 'roo dizzily hopped off.

Solid animals, like wombats or "furry boulders"

[movenon]

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=4392

They are terrifying !

[Arnie]

You do realize that the cuter, furrier animal in your pic is a koala, right?

But you do need to be careful of the 'joker; roos, especially if you're near water.
    http://i.imgur.com/rmDd5.gif

Arnie

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=4392

They are terrifying !

[movenon]

You do realize that the cuter, furrier animal in your pic is a koala, right?

But you do need to be careful of the 'joker; roos, especially if you're near water.
    http://i.imgur.com/rmDd5.gif

Arnie

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view;id=4392

They are terrifying !
[/quote

That's hilarious ! ! The Roo is saying "look at this dumb shit". Yea, I know, you just can't trust those killer Koala's......

[ribbert]

Did you know the leathers all MotoGP riders, and probably many other racers wear are made of kangaroo hide.
Noel